an incredible journey you went on with whitney houston. tell me about her. >> wow. from the very first time i saw her,her, i was completely blown away. to see her music, her voice, everything about her just touched my spirit in ways no other singer could. and, you know, working with her and sharing moments with her were just unforgettable. and, you know, one of the last things we talked about was me going forward and what i had to do in terms of my connection with my fans and music and she just told me, you know, you have to be yourself because when you are yourself, that's who people will fall in love with. and -- >> was she herself towards the end, do you think? or had she just got lost in the maelstrom of fame and abuse and all the rest of it? >> one of the things that i can't -- i can't put my mind around is where she really was because, you know, at the end of her life, i wasn't there. i wasn't around. i didn't talk to her as much, which is one of the reasons why it was so hard for me to get over her passing is because i felt like i wasn't there enough for her